Strategy AFLW post season Trade, FA & Draft Talk 2024

[Pinoy Hawk]

2024 AFLW Draft preview: Hawthorn Hawks

Hawthorn finished second on the AFLW ladder this year and while being sent out of finals in straight sets have three top 30 draft picks.

central.rookieme.com

 

[Liam AFLW nuff]

re the discussion about Locke, the question you need to ask is would you trade her for pick 50, because that is what her delisting allowed us access to. Knowing this draft, I would (unfortunately).

speaking of this draft: full mock draft.

For those keen, I'll be live on the Soaring to New Heights twitter account from 6:45pm AEDT tonight on Spaces. feel free to join

 

[Liam AFLW nuff]

Wow, I mean, their spot in the team has always seemed low on the list, but is this the draft to grab 5 players from? Do we still have another DFA period to come?

I guess its a case those that are in the team now are "established" first teamers and last years crop are the next to come through and anyone drafted now has to push through again.

yes. It is the draft to get 5 players from. It's a ridiculous crop

 

[streetspirit]

Cox becomes a Hawk

Lavinia Cox is our newest Hawk!

www.hawthornfc.com.au

 

[streetspirit]

Hawthorn welcomes Flockart

Hawthorn has selected Daisy Flockart with Pick 23.

www.hawthornfc.com.au

 

[streetspirit]

Baba to don the brown and gold

Grace Baba has joined Hawthorn.

www.hawthornfc.com.au

 

[bigmaxi]

Baba to don the brown and gold

Grace Baba has joined Hawthorn.

www.hawthornfc.com.au

Thanks Streetspirit three likely inclusions, I have so much faith in our talent search team. Can’t wait to hit the new season 2025. This year was terrific and there will be a fair bit of burn to get deeper in the finals.

 

[streetspirit]

Symonds becomes a Hawk

Elli Symonds was taken by Hawthorn with Pick 45.

www.hawthornfc.com.au

Clottey joins the Hawks

Hawthorn has selected Rebecca Clottey with Pick 50.

www.hawthornfc.com.au

 

[PenAndPaper]

Baba to don the brown and gold

Grace Baba has joined Hawthorn.

www.hawthornfc.com.au

Baba looks ridiculously good from the highlights for me. Tall and looks to be very good and clean at ground level. She's is exciting.

 

[Tall Tales and True]

Symonds mentioned top 20 ... good get @ 45!?

On SM-S916B using BigFooty.com mobile app

 

[FB19]

What can tend to get lost in trading before the draft for AFLW is that every group of 18 year olds will almost inevitably be more skilled / talented than the previous season(s).

Obvious reason being that almost all these girls will not only have played football continuously since age 5, but the standard of their footy, and coaching, will be superior to those who went before them.

We have heaps of experience in our side, perhaps our age profile is too old compared to some others in the chasing pack?

Now is the best time to genuinely invest in 5 or 6 talented 18 year olds who may actually become 6-10 year Hawthorn players.

I’ve said this many times too it may seem counter intuitive being in contention to hit the draft hard but these players are far better than what we lost. Locke and Fellows were hardly AFLW standard anyway and the girls coming through will be far superior. Elli Symonds will be twice the player Mattea Breed could ever be what a steal at 45. Baba wow in a few years time could be anything she already has great agility game awareness and movement and of course she hates losing. Cox oozes class just needs to get stronger and Flockhart great agility just needs to work on disposal. Clottey is going to be a lot of fun she’s already ahead of fellows. Overall that’s a very good draft on paper fingers crossed!

 

[Pinoy Hawk]

 

[pattymalone00]

 

[I got the outside word]

Can anyone who knows better tell me how they think we went in the draft?

 

[FB19]

So did you just post your own tweet Pat?

 

[FB19]

Can anyone who knows better tell me how they think we went in the draft?

I’m not an expert by any means but it’s impossible to say. You can only evaluate who we got against the picks we had based on expert rankings. From what I read going in we got Cox and Baba around the expected range, flockhart a bolter and symonds a major slider. Clottey not really mentioned. On that basis we have done around expectations but they are all high upside picks so fingers crossed. Another way to view it is against what they replaced. Baskaran Fellows Locke hardly played Stephenson in and out and Breed was ok but we have better players in her role. Players now are far better than years past so overall the suspicion is we have improved and hopefully quite a lot.

 

[HedgeFund]

I’m not an expert by any means but it’s impossible to say. You can only evaluate who we got against the picks we had based on expert rankings. From what I read going in we got Cox and Baba around the expected range, flockhart a bolter and symonds a major slider. Clottey not really mentioned. On that basis we have done around expectations but they are all high upside picks so fingers crossed. Another way to view it is against what they replaced. Baskaran Fellows Locke hardly played Stephenson in and out and Breed was ok but we have better players in her role. Players now are far better than years past so overall the suspicion is we have improved and hopefully quite a lot.

HaWtHoRn WoN tHe AfLw DrAfT

 

[bigmaxi]

re the discussion about Locke, the question you need to ask is would you trade her for pick 50, because that is what her delisting allowed us access to. Knowing this draft, I would (unfortunately).

speaking of this draft: full mock draft.

For those keen, I'll be live on the Soaring to New Heights twitter account from 6:45pm AEDT tonight on Spaces. feel free to join

re the discussion about Locke, the question you need to ask is would you trade her for pick 50, because that is what her delisting allowed us access to. Knowing this draft, I would (unfortunately).

speaking of this draft: full mock draft.

For those keen, I'll be live on the Soaring to New Heights twitter account from 6:45pm AEDT tonight on Spaces. feel free to join

Great read Liam, many thanks. Shed some light on who we have picked. Very happy with all selections.

 

[Davo-27]

just looked at a few highlights, my initial thoughts on each player



Lavinia Cox - she looks like an outside type that can play on the inside at junior footy, but is too skinny to do that at senior level, seems a hbf/wing/hff type that has good footy IQ gets space and can use the footy cleanly to bring team mates into the game, being an outside type she seems to have a good athletic profile, she could play a receiver type role inside to break through lines? i guess we'll see what the coaches have planned?.

Daisy Flockhart - she seems tall and strong for a mid, think Cripps in the Mens game, good run and carry also for a tall strong girl, big mids can be handy in the modern game, i think she can play as a tallish player at either end, but i like the idea of using her run and carry in the midfield Cripps-Style

Grace Baba - skinny flanker/key position player, has speed and scraps for the footy, good mark, good athletic profile and reminds me of a young CJ

Elli Symonds - legs thick as Stewie Dews, compact flexible tall type, lacks a bit of height i think?, bit of strength and speed, depth in key position

Rebecca Clottey - very aggressive mid with good athletic profile, i like this late pick, another african girl, seems to have a good competitive edge and seems tough



in conclusion, i have only seen a sample of their games, my favourite from the highlights was Flockhart, i liked Baba and Clottey and what they brought to their teams, Cox is a skillful player, but AFLW is so congested its hard for these types to get room to show their skill so im curious to see how she goes, Symonds could be OK, but theres a couple of issues, lack of height and injury history, i can see why she slid, but speed and good over head are good traits too (very much a jack of all trades type).

 

[The Post Man]

just looked at a few highlights, my initial thoughts on each player



Lavinia Cox - she looks like an outside type that can play on the inside at junior footy, but is too skinny to do that at senior level, seems a hbf/wing/hff type that has good footy IQ gets space and can use the footy cleanly to bring team mates into the game, being an outside type she seems to have a good athletic profile, she could play a receiver type role inside to break through lines? i guess we'll see what the coaches have planned?.

Daisy Flockhart - she seems tall and strong for a mid, think Cripps in the Mens game, good run and carry also for a tall strong girl, big mids can be handy in the modern game, i think she can play as a tallish player at either end, but i like the idea of using her run and carry in the midfield Cripps-Style

Grace Baba - skinny flanker/key position player, has speed and scraps for the footy, good mark, good athletic profile and reminds me of a young CJ

Elli Symonds - legs thick as Stewie Dews, compact flexible tall type, lacks a bit of height i think?, bit of strength and speed, depth in key position

Rebecca Clottey - very aggressive mid with good athletic profile, i like this late pick, another african girl, seems to have a good competitive edge and seems tough



in conclusion, i have only seen a sample of their games, my favourite from the highlights was Flockhart, i liked Baba and Clottey and what they brought to their teams, Cox is a skillful player, but AFLW is so congested its hard for these types to get room to show their skill so im curious to see how she goes, Symonds could be OK, but theres a couple of issues, lack of height and injury history, i can see why she slid, but speed and good over head are good traits too (very much a jack of all trades type).

Great write up, Davo.

l wouldn't say Cox is an outside type, despite the fact that she is not really built as a typical inside mid. Her ability to work in the contest, virtually inside a phone box, be clean and make exceptionally quick decisions (especially releasing the ball outside the contest by hand) is seriously elite. She does slow the game down.

Flockhart is the big beast, inside mid that we don't have. I think she could have the potential to be like Rowbottom and Ham. Hopefully her disposal becomes much better than Rowbottom's, who butchers the ball and burns her teammates all the time.

I think Baba, Symonds and Clottey are all speculative picks. Have some weapons and x-factor at junior levels, but just a question as to whether they can develop into AFLW standard players. Still better to speculate about these kids than hold on to players we know aren't up to it.

 

[Cripps 'n' Blue Bloods]

Best of luck to Lavinia.
She's an amazing athlete. Been playing footy at the Pioneers and basketball for the Bendigo Braves in the WNBL1 for a couple seasons already and only just signed a development player contract in Nov with the Bendigo Spirit in the WNBL for season 24/25 (not sure if she'll be able to do that now).

She was also chosen to represent Australia in Paris at the 1v1 basketball tournament, which was held at the same time as the Olympics (only 10 female and 10 male athletes from around the world competed).
She lives and breathes sports and set a record near perfect score at the AFLW combine.

Wish the Blues snagged her, but will watch on with great interest.

Go Liv!

 

[Aristarchus]

In hindsight, last year's draft was all about getting quality in the side and it showed with how many games the rookies played.

This year's draft I think is all about the depth and upside. There's no pressure on these players 26-30 on this list to play and it'll let them focus on development.

Basically telling last year's team who got us to 2nd, "ok, do it again".

 

[Elton Johns Wig]

Hi guys, just wanted to pop in.

You'll love Elli Symonds.

She is an A grade character, first and foremost. Big tick.

She is incredibly competitive/determined, and has a very strong athletics background where she did really well before crossing to footy (also a very good basketballer)


Elli SYMONDS’s

All disciplines

competition	result	wind	discipline	date	place
Australian All-Schools Championships, SA Athletic Stadium, Adelaide	12.45	0.0	Triple Jump	09 DEC 2022	1
Australian All-Schools Championships, SA Athletic Stadium, Adelaide	1:02.13		400mH	10 DEC 2022	2
Victorian All-Schools Ch. - W/end #2, Lakeside Stadium, Melbourne	5.80	+1.8	Long Jump	05 NOV 2022	1
National School Challenge, SA Athletic Stadium, Adelaide	5.71	-1.6	Long Jump	12 DEC 2022	2
Australian U17 Championships, SOPAC, Sydney	1:02.99		400mH	03 APR 2022	2
Australian All-Schools Championships, SA Athletic Stadium, Adelaide	5.65	-1.8	Long Jump	10 DEC 2022	4
Australian U17 Championships, SOPAC, Sydney	1:03.13		400mH	02 APR 2022	1
Victorian Ch. (W/end #1), Lakeside Stadium, Melbourne	12.08	-1.0	Triple Jump	21 FEB 2021	1
Victorian All-Schools Ch. - W/end #1, Lakeside Stadium, Melbourne	12.14	+1.6	Triple Jump	29 OCT 2022	1
HVC Meet #5, Lakeside Stadium, Melbourne	1:03.39		400mH	17 MAR 2022	1

Hasn't shown her true worth due to injury. When you get her fit (and your club historically excellent with recovery from injury) you will have a beauty. Absolute steal at 45. No injuries I'm positive she goes top 20, maybe higher.

Will follow keenly. MIght even buy a Hawks AFLW membership.

 

[streetspirit]

 

[Davo-27]

Great write up, Davo.

l wouldn't say Cox is an outside type, despite the fact that she is not really built as a typical inside mid. Her ability to work in the contest, virtually inside a phone box, be clean and make exceptionally quick decisions (especially releasing the ball outside the contest by hand) is seriously elite. She does slow the game down.

Flockhart is the big beast, inside mid that we don't have. I think she could have the potential to be like Rowbottom and Ham. Hopefully her disposal becomes much better than Rowbottom's, who butchers the ball and burns her teammates all the time.

I think Baba, Symonds and Clottey are all speculative picks. Have some weapons and x-factor at junior levels, but just a question as to whether they can develop into AFLW standard players. Still better to speculate about these kids than hold on to players we know aren't up to it.

yea if she becomes that Rowbottom type for Gold Coast she will impact games, thats best outcome for Flockhart which is why shes a favourite of mine out of the group of girls we picked up, all 5 girls have talent, i hope they thrive under the pressures of the AFLW.




shes 5'10 + 1/2 - 179cm which is KPP Height (similar to being 193+cm mid in the mens game) in the AFLW and she can run and shes got some size and burst which is why im excited by her as a prospect as the highlights above show, kicking could improve, but no player is perfect and she can train kicking skills, but theres a lot of things about her game that seem good from the small amount ive seen, the big question is mentally can she make the step up, because thats where draftees can drop away in both the mens and womens games and only through many interviews can that be answered by the recruiters.